Saudi police arrest top wanted militant

Saudi security forces battling al-Qaeda have arrested a leading militant, state television has reported.

Saudi security forces battling al-Qaeda have arrested a leading militant, state television has reported.

An Interior Ministry statement said Mr Faris al-Zahrani, whom it called "one of the heads of the sedition", was arrested in a mountainous region in the south of the kingdom.

A Saudi security source said Mr Zahrani did not resist when he was arrested after security forces recognised him as he sat in a cafe in the town of Abha.

Mr Zahrani, whose messages were prominently displayed on the website of al-Qaeda's organisation in the kingdom, was on a Saudi list of 26 top wanted Islamic militants, 12 of whom are still on the run after the latest arrest.

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One of three clerics on the list, he is thought to have taken a leading role in the local organisation after Saudi security forces killed its leader Mr Abdulaziz al-Muqrin in June.

The ministry said a second person was arrested along with Zahrani, but did not identify him for security reasons.

Militants linked to Saudi-born Osama bin Laden's al-Qaeda have waged a 15-month campaign of suicide bombings and shootings aimed at destabilising Saudi Arabia and forcing Westerners from the birthplace of Islam.